'Don't suspend preparations for barangay polls'

MANILA, Philippines - A House leader has reminded the Commission on Elections (Comelec) not to suspend its preparations for the October barangay polls even as officials favor the rescheduling of the polls.

House Majority Leader and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II said although Comelec spokesman James Jimenez had declared that chances of holding the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections were getting slimmer, “the Comelec must not slow down with its preparations just because of these proposals.”

“They should work assuming the elections will push through,” Gonzales said.

“They (Comelec officials) must not second-guess us (lawmakers) because the barangay and SK elections are mandated under the law and another law would have to be passed before they can be deferred,” he said.

He pointed out that while there appears to be strong support in the House for the postponement of the polls, passing a law for such purpose as well as getting President Aquino to agree to the plan might be difficult to achieve.

“My gut tells me, and going by my experience as a lawmaker for many years, that the probability is 99.99 percent barangay elections in October 2010,” he said.

Some lawmakers want the elections to be reset to 2012 while others are in favor of holding it with the 2013 elections.

Gonzales said Congress and Malacañang must immediately come to a resolution as October is just around the corner and the Comelec would soon have to enter into contracts and monetary obligations for the elections.

If the official postponement would come too late, then funds would be wasted, he said.

Comelec Chairman Jose Melo earlier said a decision must be made by early September.

Gonzales suggested that Mr. Aquino immediately convene the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) to allow congressmen and senators to discuss a common stand on the issue.

‘Postponement undemocratic’

Meanwhile, opposition Sen. Alan Cayetano said he is against the postponement of the polls and the abolition of the SK.

Cayetano argued that a postponement of the barangay election would be undemocratic, citing a similar proposal made last year for the May 2010 national elections.

“Are we saying now that we are discriminating in the sense that if it involves a higher position, we take a certain position but when we’re talking about the (barangay) captains, we agree to extend (their terms),” he said.

“Can we put a price on democracy? Can we say that we save P3 billion by not having mandates for the kapitans (captains)? What about those who were abused? What about the right of the others to run for office? What about the right of the people to choose their barangay officials every three years?” he said.

On the proposals to abolish the SK Council, Cayetano said they should address the issues hounding SK through reforms.

He said it was unfair to label the SK as breeding ground for graft and corruption.

“So if they’re saying that it’s a breeding ground for corruption, who then is corrupting them (SK representatives)? Not their youth counterparts but the older people,” he said.

Cayetano said that issues related to funds may easily be resolved by introducing stricter guidelines on their use and closer monitoring of their activities.

An election watchdog also wants the barangay elections to push through in October.

Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Economic Reform, said the Comelec has the resources for the conduct of the barangay polls this year.

“That’s part of democracy... Money is not the problem here because the money for the conduct of barangay elections is already in the hands of the Comelec,” Casiple told a news conference in Quezon City.

At least 21 bills and two resolutions calling for the postponement and synchronization of barangay and SK elections were filed before the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms chaired by Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr.

Comelec’s Melo backed the postponement of the barangay and SK elections to 2011 to give the poll body more time to prepare for a possible manual election.

He said resetting the barangay and SK polls to 2013 would be tedious and laborious since it would coincide with the scheduled midterm elections.

He said that under an automated setup, some 42,000 different kinds of ballots corresponding to barangays alone will have to be printed, separate from the national and other local positions that will be up for grabs during that election.

Former Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said holding the barangay elections in October would trigger a political change at the grassroots that is envisioned by President Aquino.

“The elections must push through as ordered by the President to effect change at the political landscape of the country’s 41,000 barangays,” Pimentel told The STAR in a chance interview.

He said postponement of the polls, being pushed by the Liga ng mga Barangay and the minority bloc in the House of Representatives, would again extend the terms of incumbent officials. – Perseus Echeminada, Eva Visperas